Posts Tagged ‘autistic teenagers’

For most parents, one of the most trying times in their lives is during their child’s teenage years. “The teenage years” and dealing with autistic teenagers is not easy!

When puberty hits, young adults go through serious changes in their bodies and minds, and parents have little or no control over many situations. In an autistic child, puberty is no different. Although your autistic child is not experiencing puberty in quite the same ways as others his or her age, major hormonal changes still occur in the body. This can lead to extreme results, and this can be either good or bad depending on how your child reacts to the new hormone levels.

One of the scariest side effects of changes for autistic teenagers is the onset of seizures.

Many autistic individuals experience seizures from birth right through to adulthood. However, even if your ASD child does not suffer from these episodes, he or she may begin to experience seizures during puberty and afterwards, due to the new levels of hormones in their body.

Almost a quarter of autistic children experience seizures, but many go undetected because they are not textbook versions of seizures.

If you recognize that your ASD child is experiencing a seizure, you should contact your G.P., he/she will be able to prescribe medications or treatments which will help your autistic teen.

However, if the seizures are subconsciously happening, you and your child may not realize it. The result of these small hidden seizures can be a loss in function, which can be disruptive, especially if you child was improving before puberty. Regular check-ups during puberty, therefore, are extremely important.

The changes many autistic children go through are not necessarily be a bad thing. New hormone levels in the body and the other changes associated with puberty can help your autistic child grow and succeed in areas he or she normally had no skill or interest.

Many parents report that their teen’s behavior improved, and that learning in social settings has become easier.

The important thing about puberty is to learn to monitor the changes in your ASD child very carefully and to ask your doctor lots of questions.

Remember that puberty is a difficult experience for any young adult, and so it will be even more difficult for autistic individuals.

Try using supports for autism and puberty with your aspie teen. Supports like social stories ARE effective around this time of life.

Typically an aspie teen may not understand what is happening to them and CAN become withdrawn, stressed and feel isolated.

The benefit of using supports for autism and puberty like social skills stories for teenagers with autism is that the social story CAN become like a friend (a visual plan or framework) detailing to the teen with autism exactly what is happening and why as well as giving them possible outcomes and suggest behaviors

The social story will answer the “wh questions – who, what, why, where and when” as well as “HOW” and will offer the teen with autism an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of marked weakness in many autistic individuals.

To learn more about The teenage years – dealing with autistic teenagers with supports for autism and puberty like social skills stories for teenagers with autism visit:

What are teens with autism spectrum disorder like? And what are the autism effects on teenagers?

The teenage years are for the vast majority of us our most social years.

But if you’re autistic they CAN be stressful and confusing. So how can YOU HELPyour teen cope with this confusing period in their life.

The autism effects on teenagers are still similar to those displayed as a child. The teen on the spectrum will have difficulties with social situations, such as making friends, they will struggle to start and sustain conversations, may prefer to be alone, have difficulties joining in activities and lack imagination.

Many autistic teenagers can appear rude, aloof even in some cases withdrawn. However some autistic teensmay be aggressive display tantrums, shout and generally be difficult to control which can cause stress within the classroom and home as the autistic teenager grows so does their strength and capabilities to be destructive.

For many teens with autism spectrum disorder lacking the ability to express their emotions like anger, fear and frustration in ways that are acceptable may cause difficulties, and a behaviour which was acceptable as a child may become inappropriate as the teen with autism spectrum grows older.

As their body alters and hormones rage many teens with autism spectrum disorder can become anxious and confused. The teen on the spectrum will have a lack of social understanding which can cause stress, coupled with a lack of understanding as to what is happening to them physically, this can be a recipe for disaster.

Treatments of autism that teach the autistic teen social skills are available and in the majority of cases prove successful.

Teenagers with autism respond well to help with social skills training. Research suggests that social skills training helps reduce the anxieties.

Teachers and parents of ASD teenagers use treatments of autism such as social stories for autistic teenagers to help them teach the autistic teen social skills and address communication difficulties, such as asking questions, respecting personal space, making friends, menstruation and so on.

The social skills story gives focus to the key points and helps the teenager with autism find answers and techniques for those situations they struggle with.

Social stories for autistic teenagersanswer the “wh” questions – who, where, why, when and what as well as “HOW” and give the teenager with autism an insight into the thoughts, emotions and feelings of others, which is an area of marked weakness in most autistic individuals. The social skills story also helps to reduce anxieties and confusion.

A social skills story can be used to help with transitions, hygiene issues, puberty as well as less common issues like appropriate kissing and touching.

Social skills stories use visual images and appropriate first person text in a set formula to describe the situation or skills the ASD teen is finding difficult.

To find out more about how social skills stories will help you to teach the autistic teen social skills and address their communication difficulties visit and get downloads of social stories for autistic teenagers

Where you will find information on what are teens with autism spectrum disorder like and social stories for anyone caring for an ASD teen.

Scores of parents of teens with autism worry that they will not “fit in”. This concern is heightened by the autistic teenager’s difficulties in mastering hygiene abilities and routines, particularly hygiene difficulties surrounding puberty, such as autistic girls and menstruation.
Hygiene abilities are essential life abilities but for lots of autistic teenagers developing healthy hygiene habits can be difficult . As a result direct teaching of healthy hygiene habits in autism is important.
For a lot of parents of young adults with autism puberty can be very stressful, parents look for ways to clarify puberty and educate healthy hygiene habits and routines in autism. Parents turn increasingly towards autistic supports like as social skills stories, designed to assist them to deal with this challenging period in their child’s life.

Social abilities stories were originally developed as a means of communication, but soon grew in popularity and use. At present social abilities stories are used more extensively to teach social, imagination and communication abilities and behaviours as well as a method of communication.

Using appropriate language and visual images, social stories are used as autistic supports for individuals with an ASD and similar conditions. The social story offers the teen with autism with a role model of precisely how to master the situation or skill.

The social story answers the “wh” questions ~ who, where, why, what and when as well as giving an insight into the thoughts, emotions and thoughts of others. Focusing on the foremost key questions and cutting out all the frills, individuals with an ASD respond well to autistic supports such as social stories, which relieve anxieties and make the teen with autism more at ease with and in the situation.

Consequently many parents of teens with autism make use of social skills stories to instruct healthy hygiene habits and routines in autism.

Parents of autistic teens put into practice social skills stories to help with autistic hygiene issues such as:

As well as addressing healthy hygiene habits in teenagers with autism, social stories also help to teach many autistic hygiene issues, all significant to a healthy life style.

To download social abilities stories for dealing with healthy hygiene habits in teenagers with autism as well as addressing healthy hygiene issues in autistic teens you can visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com/hygiene

From this website you can instantly download 20 social skills stories for healthy hygiene issues in autistic teens and children.

All children with autism have social deficits in three main areas; social interaction, communication difficulties and imagination skills. Many will also display ritualistic and obsessive behaviours.

These social deficits will remain with your child into the teenage years; autism can not be outgrown or cured.

For the vast majority of us the teenage years are probably our most social years. For teenagers on the spectrum the teenage years can bring their own set of issues, with an increase in hormonal levels many teenagers on the spectrum may begin to suffer from seizures, this in-itself can cause major problems.

But add to that a changing body. Increased sexual desire and changing peer pressures, for autistic girl’s menstruation, the teenage years can be an anxious, confusing and stressful time for the ASD teen.

Puberty is not something that can be avoided just because you are on the spectrum, therefore various resources aimed at helping parents of autistic teenagers help their child navigate their way through the high’s and low’s of the teen years are available.

One such resource aimed at helping parents of autistic teenagers explain puberty, for autistic girl’s menstruation as well as hygiene and other age related social skills is social skills stories.

No doubt you are probably already aware of how good this resource can be and how affective.

Social stories can take the pressure out of social skills teaching to teenagers on the autism spectrum.

A social skills story is normally a short visual representation of the situation, skill or behaviour that needs addressing. The social skills story breaks the skill down into small pieces taking out the frill, and highlighting the social cues or prompts. By using visual images and first person text in a concise and clear step by step plan, the social story will act like a role model for the skill, situation or behaviour.

This allows the ASD teen to rehearse the skill making it feel more routine thus taking away any anxieties and confusion.

Social stories aim to answer the “wh” questions (who, where, why, when and what) as well as giving the teenager on the spectrum an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others.

Research suggests that social skills teaching to teenagers on the autism spectrum using social skills stories is beneficial

Not all social skills stories will be perfect, as no two teens will ever be the same, and from time to time will need tweaking to fit the teen and their capabilities.

For some teens with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) coping with puberty and the changes in their bodies can be stressful and confusing. Their growing sexuality, their friends, their environment and what is expected of them from others will change. A typically developing teen will understand these changes, ask questions and generally just “get on with it”.

However for most autistic teenagers the onset of puberty is difficult to understand. Even the most verbal teens with ASD puberty is stressful and can they can become anxious. For a lot of teenagers with autism the onset of puberty can also mean the beginning of seizures, which in themselves can be upsetting and confusing, just to add to the already confusing and stressful time called adolescents.

Many parents of individuals with autism can find the adolescent years difficult. A very good point to remember is with all individuals with ASD there will almost certainly be communication deficits.

Communication deficits are common to ASD, generally individuals with ASD tend to be visual thinkers and learners, meaning they think and talk in pictures. Therefore using visual prompts and cues is going to work far better than speaking or written text.

So to put this knowledge into practise using visual aids for autism around this stressful time is beneficial. An already stressed out teen is not going to listen, so talk less and use visual aids for autism to get your point across or to help.

Consequently, many parents of individuals with autism find huge benefits from using autism social skills stories for teenagers with ASD .Social stories are used as a tool in autism, a visual explanation, a visual framework showing visually the “wh” questions (what, where, when and why).

Autism social skills stories for teenagers with ASD are used by parents, teachers and other professionals to explain coping with puberty, about their changing bodies, changes to routines, friends, hygiene issues and other issues that may occur around this time of life.

Social skills stories are useful visual aids for autism, and can be implemented when teaching things like using deodorant, showering, masturbation and how to deal with aggression.

To learn more about Autism social skills stories for teenagers with ASD and coping with puberty visit us at:

Many parents of teenagers with autism worry that their child will not “fit in”. This worry is heightened by the autistic teenager’s difficulties in mastering hygiene skills and routines? especially around puberty.

Hygiene skills are essential life skills but for many autistic teens developing these skills can be challenging. Consequently direct teaching of healthy hygiene habits in autism is essential.

Many parents of teenagers with autism look for ways to teach healthy hygiene habits and routines in autism and turn increasingly towards autistic supports such as social skills stories.

Developed almost twenty years ago social skills stories help teach social and communication skills to autistic individuals effectively.

Using appropriate language and visual representations they show the teen with autism exactly how to master a skill, what to expect and what others will expect.

The social skills stories explain the why, where, what and when of the skill concentrating on the main key points and cutting out all the frills in a way the teen with autism can comprehend and cope with, helping to relieve anxieties and make the teen with autism more comfortable with and in the situation.

Consequently many parents of teenagers with autism use social skills stories to teach healthy hygiene habits and routines in autism and report huge success rates.

Parents of autistic teens implementsocial skills stories to help with autistic hygiene issues such as:

* autism and going to the bathroom

* puberty and autistic girls

* autistic teenage hygiene ~ using deodorant

* autism and menstruation

* taking a shower

* taking a bath

Plus helping to teach many autistic hygiene issues, all relevant to a healthy lifestyle and being accepted by peers.

Generally parents of autistic teens will already probably have a general knowledge of social skills stories, and may already be using them to teach other social and communication skills to their autistic teenager.

Social stories were first introduced almost twenty years ago by therapist Carol Gray and used for teaching autism social skills to autistic children.

Increasingly over the past few years we have seen social skills stories grow in the popularity as a strategy for improving social skills not only in children on the autism spectrum disorder scale but also in children and adults with social skills deficits.

Today social skills stories are one of the most significant strategiesused for teaching autism social skills and behaviors. Parents, therapists, teachers and other professionals report an increase in success rates of social skills learning by autistic children that use social skills stories.

Social stories are short specifically written; in a specific style and format to describe a social situation or behavior from the autistic person’s point of view.

Social stories provide accurate informationthrough images and text about what is happening or going to happen in a specific situation.

The idea being that the social skills story can offer the autistic child information and visual representation of a social, communication, imagination, interaction and behavior skill. Giving them an insight into the skill to prepare them for it or teach them a skill.

The social skills story can tell the autistic child information surrounding the skill or behavior such as what people may do, why they do it, and what the common responses are.

The social skills story can be used to prepare and autistic person for a change in routine, for example a substitute teacher may be joining the class, maybe they will be going to get a haircut, or visit the dentist.

Social stories are also used in teaching autism social skills that are used in every day life such as tooth brushing, eating habits, teaching healthy hygiene routines to autistic teenagers and so on.

Generally social stories are used widely for most skills and behaviors the autistic person’s struggling to master or causes anxieties, meltdowns and stress.

To find out more about teaching autism social skills by using autism social stories visit any of the following sites, all offering immediate downloads of autism social stories for autistic children and autistic teenagers.

Download social skills stories on teaching healthy hygiene routines to autistic teenagers, as well as other stories for autistic teens and aspergerteens from

Being the parent of an autistic child can be stressful. But when that autistic child turns into a teenager the stress can become bigger.

Dealing with autistic teenagers is fraught with stress and anxieties. Autistic teenagers will go through puberty the same as their typically developing peers. However the onset of puberty can mean other changes for the autistic teen.

This can include seizures with increasing hormonal levels an autistic teen is more likely to suffer seizures.

Increased hormonal levels as well as mood swings and developing body can be confusing to an autistic child. The onset of puberty for a normally developing child comes as no shock and can be discussed and understood. However with autism the onset of puberty is more likely to be treated with confusion and stress.

The autistic teenager may not understand what is happening inside their body, after all they can not see why these things are happening and are likely t not understand the concept of puberty and what it means to them.

This where social skills stories for autistic teenagers can be very beneficial, parents report that using social skills stories can help the autistic teenager understand the changes that are happening not only in their bodies but also around them.

This autism resource has been tries and trusted for years by autistic teenagers and their parents to help find coping mechanisms for the teenage years, such as autism social skills stories.

The internet now makes it possible for teenagers, siblings, parents and teachers of autistic teenagers to access suitable social skills stories for autistic teenagers, which cover issues such as puberty, menstruation, masturbation and other issues connected to the onset of the teenage years.

To download autism social skills stories for autistic teenager TO help when dealing with autistic teenagers; visit any of the following sites:

The teenage years are a confusing and stressful stage for any body. As parents we watch our children move into adolescence with the hope that they will be sensible and seek advice from us their parents when the going gets tough.

We are there for them helping with pimples and puberty. The transition into secondary school, their first real partner and so on.

However when your youngster is autistic this transition becomes harder. Transition for autistic teens is going to be stressful and confusing.

As with a normally developing teenagers and autistic teen will still experience hormonal changes, as well as changes to their bodies – puberty and the confusion of moving school and watching their peer group change and grow from friends to play with to friends who hang out!

The transition for autistic teens become fraught with obstacles as a parent you will want to help your autistic teen overcome; as stress free as possible.

As with any change in your autistic child’s life this transition time will need careful planning and you are going to need autism resources in place to help your autistic child manage this difficult time in their life.

Autistic teenagers do not develop emotionally at the same speed as their normally developing peer group. The autistic teen can “get stuck” have trouble moving on into adolescents.

There are methods and autism resources that can help with this transition from childhood into adolescents.

Your autistic child is probably already familiar with visual schedules and autism social stories. Any transitions within the school can be shown on the visual scheduleâ€¦for example a new school visit, exams and so.

Remember though that the autisticteen will undoubtedly be confused by the idea of moving onto another school and the transition period should be handled in the same manner by all concerned with your autistic child’s care and education.

A meeting with the new school, for parents and autistic student should be arranged, with the possibility of the autistic student spending time with the new teacher, viewing the new class. Maybe even being shown where they will sit etc

The autistic educator may like to use visual prompts to demonstrate to the autistic teen what is expected of them at the new school. A transition day should be arranged where the autistic student can spend the day in the new school to familiarize themselves with the new class etc.

At this point it would be a good idea to take some pictures of the new teacher the class maybe the desk and so on for the autistic teen to refer too.

An excellent autism resource at this stage also is autism social stories, they can explain the transition.

Why it is happening and what the autistic teen can expect to happen and how they will be expected to behave – and so on.

The pictures that were taken can at this point be added to the autism social story in place of the images to show in real terms the transition and how it will happen.

Autism social stories will need to be used for the whole process with school and home having the same autism social story in place. This will help the autistic teenager remember and understand what is going on and why.

The autistic teenager can refer to autism social stories for any situations they are finding confusing around this stressful time in their lives.

Research shows careful planning and appropriate autism resources such as autism social stories, visual schedules etc can benefit the autistic teenager and make the transition for autistic teenager a lot easier to cope with.